5 reasons why everyone should learn to meditate

Meditation is taking the world by storm. Gone are the days when it used to be associated with just highly successful people as a means of coping with stress and anxiety. In the contemporary times, its ubiquitousness is likened to that of a smartphone today. So, awareness of keeping ourselves fit has led to meditation becoming a health and wellness essential in the relaxation repertoire of every individual in this day and age. But it is interesting to ponder over why we should learn meditation.

Here are five solid incentives to learn and practice meditation.

1) A better good night, a better day life

Lets start with what matters the most to our every day energy levels. Yes thats right, meditation helps you sleep better. By sleep better I mean creation of a sleep routine a sleep time table and a sleep hygiene. This in turn allows our body to enter a natural rhythm which is great for healing, recovery, well being and important for the optimal functioning of all our body systems. When we meditate, we are actually working on stimulating our pituitary and pineal glands which are responsible for helping the body resonate at a uniform pace at which it can carry all the functions with ease. A good night’s sleep triggered by the rhythm of meditation is the perfect balm for almost all lifestyle disorders, cognitive ailments, insomnia among many other diseases.

2) Bye Bye Stress, Hello Success

A peep into the routines of the highest rungs of society – CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, film stars, fitness gurus in USA and around the world – and you will find one commonality. No points for guessing this one. Yea, all of them have made meditation a part and parcel of their lives.

A 2005 study at Harvard Medical School found that meditation increases the thickness of your prefrontal cortex, the area of your brain associated with attention and self-awareness. This has not escaped the notice of the wellness coaches who have spread the word about this to their celebrity clients. Also, various practical studies have shown meditation even reduces employee stress and burnout, a finding setting off corporate meditation culture, of which yours truly is at the forefront. A study on teachers at a school for children with severe behavioral problems who were treated to a meditation program had less stress, less depression, and overall lower burnout than other teachers.

World-class athletes, top managers and world-class performers, when tested, have all shown high levels of what’s called brain integration. This means that their brains are wired with strong connections between the different areas, they have heightened attention, and they’re able to think quickly to deal with problems.A study from Harvard Medical School demonstrated that meditation causes changes in brain waves that actually improve the brain’s functionality. You can find success in any area of your life, and just think of all the time you’ll save!

3) It takes you towards more mindful eating, relationships

So many people I have met and interacted with have told me how binge eating was one of their tools to overcome stress. But the same people came up to me tell thank me that meditation made them more mindful of their lifestyle choices, most of all their dietary preferences. Body was now temple in contrast to a junk bin earlier.

My point is underpinned by the following research in which scientists at UC San Francisco examined a group of women to investigate if meditating could prevent overeating. The researchers didn’t instruct the following of any particular diet, but instead taught mindful eating, and had participants meditate for thirty minutes a day. The result? While the control group actually gained weight, the treatment participants maintained their weights, plus lowered their stress levels. Higher reductions in cortisol and stress also showed higher reductions in abdominal fat.

Another benefit is meditating will show you the day when your partner will thank you. By learning to better recognize your own emotions, and those of others, you’ll more easily experience lasting harmony in your relationships.

4) It soothes pain, acts as healing catalyser

Tests conducted in the various meditation programmes across the world for the last decade or so have revealed that meditation and mindfulness could significantly improve pain symptoms and quality of life in the dedicated practitioners.

Not only this, meditation is a great reliever even for mental and emotional wounds. Dr. Elizabeth Hoge, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, articulated that meditation could be therapeutic for those afflicted by generalized anxiety disorder, a condition symptomised by hard-to-control worries, poor sleep, and irritability.

5) If you are happy and you know it meditate

Meditation helps us gain awareness of our minds, so we can see negative thoughts and say “those thoughts are not me.” Becoming less identified with our emotions and thoughts helps those thoughts lose power.A Harvard study found that mind-wandering, which often means drifting to these negative thoughts, was linked to unhappiness. And recently, Madhav Goyal, who led a study by Johns Hopkins researchers, said that for depression, “we found a roughly 10 to 20 percent improvement in depressive symptoms compared to the placebo groups. This is similar to the effects of antidepressants in similar populations.”If you wish to experience this new wonderful normal in your life, start meditating now or learn from Ishan in person in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia & Indonesia.

2 Comments

Thank you very much Ishan Bhaiya!! I love the work you are doing for the youth!! Babaji has given us sadhna of the infinity, the beautiful deep meditations. But you are the cherry on the top!!
Love you!! and How do you Smile? 🙂